English Literature: Medieval Literature

Entry requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant subject, normally English literature.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The prose, poetry and drama of the later medieval period (roughly 1350-1550) in England and Scotland offer a remarkably rich subject for advanced literary study.

This programme allows you to pursue individual projects in Scottish and/or English literature within a wider interdisciplinary understanding of the period as a whole. Whether your interests lie in major figures such as Chaucer, Langland, The Gawain Poet, Malory, Skelton, Henryson, Dunbar, Douglas or Lyndsay, in less well-known or anonymous writers, the romance tradition, lyric poetry or drama, or in the relationships between literature, society and politics, you will have the opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of supervised independent research, supported by a flexible choice of taught options in related areas.

We are the oldest department of English Literature in the world, and at the last Research Assessment Exercise were awarded the highest research rating possible, of 5*A. We have one of the largest graduate programmes in this area in the country and a rich research culture covering all aspects of literatures in English.

We offer supervision in all areas of medieval literature, and have particular strengths in verse and prose romance, religious and secular drama, and lyric poetry.

The research of staff has made valuable contributions to the areas of literature and philosophy, modernism/postmodernism, medieval and early modern literature, history of the book, romanticism, transatlantic studies and performance studies.

English Literature houses the Centre for the History of the Book and is one of the UK's leading forces in this area. It works closely with the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and with the National Library of Scotland. The latter's recently acquired Murray Archive is crucial for studies in Romanticism, Book History, Bibliography and Archive Studies.